Starting Over
by luvsanime02
Summary: Harry had nowhere to go, and finds himself starting over in an unexpected place. This is a HP/SnK crossover about Harry, Armin, and Eren discussing the world beyond the walls. Requested by DarkIceAngelFlare, for winning 1st Place in the Second Blindfolded Competition over on the Harry Potter FanFiction Challenges in the forums.


**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter belongs to JKR, and I am making no money off of this fic. Likewise, Shingeki no Kyojin is not mine, either.

 **AN:** This fic is dedicated to DarkIceAngelFlare, for winning 1st place in the Second Blindfolded Competition over on the Harry Potter FanFiction Challenges in the forums. She requested a Harry Potter/Shingeki no Kyojin crossover, where Harry starts out in his world, then ends up in Eren and Armin's, and the three of them discuss the world outside of the walls.

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 **Starting Over** by luvsanime02

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Harry Potter's eyes were squeezed tightly shut as he curled up into a ball while lying down on his cot, but try though he might, he could still hear his aunt and uncle as they yelled about Harry's 'unnaturalness.' Not that they were arguing with each other. Oh, no. His relatives all seemed to be in perfect agreement that Harry was freakish, and that whatever odd things happened around him were his own fault.

He didn't see how this could be, though. It wasn't like Harry had _tried_ to end up on the roof of his primary school. One moment, he'd been running from Dudley and his friends (gang) as they played 'Harry Hunting.' The next-

Well, the next thing Harry knew, he was up on the roof of the building and could not get down. The headmistress had called up Aunt Petunia at Number 4, Privet Drive to complain, and she'd come in, lips pursed and chewing on her tongue as she listened. Her eyes had flashed sharply to Harry when she heard what had happened, and Harry had resisted the urge to sink further down in his chair and pull his knees up to hide his face behind. He knew that no good would come of that look.

Sure enough, when Harry was sent home with a week's detention, his aunt didn't even speak after they crossed the threshold. She merely pointed, and Harry tried to protest. He yelled through his cupboard, listening to the sounds of the locks latching, that he didn't know why or how he'd ended so high up, unable to get back down. He just had.

She didn't believe him. No one ever did. If only unusual things didn't happen around Harry so often. But they did.

And now he was shut up in his bedroom, such as it was, and his uncle, Vernon Dursley, had arrived home not ten minutes ago. There was a minute of quiet that Harry struggled to savour while he assumed his aunt was relaying what had happened, and then his uncle had started bellowing. Dudley was home by then too, and he'd started wailing about Harry accusing his cousin of chasing him. Between all three of them, the neighbours on either side of the house didn't need to press their ears against the fences to hear what was going on. They would know just from sitting inside their own living rooms.

"-this is going too far!" That was his uncle, whose voice was the loudest. It made a sort of sense to Harry, Uncle Vernon being the largest of them all, with a great walrus moustache. "It's not right! That boy was born wrong, Pet, and nothing good can come of him. His… _freakishness_ is going to do our family wrong in the end, see if it doesn't!"

"I got called in, and Ms. Cumberton just _looked_ at me when she told his side of the story!" his aunt hissed next. In case Harry could have possibly forgotten. He hadn't. "As if anyone would ever believe that our Dudleykins would harm someone! But she looked at me as though we were the problem! The _nerve_ -"

"He's jealous of me!" came the next complaint. Dudley. Harry's cousin never cried anymore, but was faking great, gasping sobs that Harry bet could be heard all the way to Mrs. Figg's house several blocks over. "He always tries to steal my friends, and he makes fun of me too!"

Now that was the least fair accusation of them all, but Harry knew that complaining would do no good. His aunt and uncle would never believe him over their precious son.

"I won't have it!" he uncle bellowed again. Harry heard him stomp closer, until the large man was right outside of Harry's cupboard, and he curled up even tighter, though his uncle showed no signs of unlocking the door. "You're staying in that cupboard all week, you hear! I won't have these lies spread about our Dudley, or your aunt and I. And don't think you're getting fed tonight either, after that!"

'Just go away,' Harry thought desperately, though he knew better than to say so out loud. 'Go away, go away, go away.'

"-enough of this nonsense," he heard muttered, as his uncle stomped back into the living room. "A man needs to protect his family."

"Vernon?" That was Aunt Petunia, whose voice was louder now, while his uncle's was quieter, so that they both were almost speaking at a civil level once again. Harry relaxed just a little, sure that now their anger had blown over, and that he only had to wait until dark before he could sneak out and filch something from the kitchen. Dudley had been chasing him during break, which is before lunch, and Harry was now very hungry.

"We'll have to send him away," his uncle replied.

Wait, what? Harry bolted upright, his heart beating hard against his ribs, struggling to hear.

"-suppose there's no choice," he heard his aunt say then.

Harry bit his lip. He'd finally done it. After so long, Harry had finally pushed his relatives too far, and now they were packing him off. He lay back down again slowly, as though in a daze. Morosely, he wondered where they'd send him. No place good, he figured. Most likely, they would pack him off to an orphanage and completely wash their hands of him at long last. They'd probably celebrate when they got home and Harry was gone for good.

He squeezed his eyes tight against the sudden tears, curling into as small of a ball as he could manage. What would happen to him now? He was afraid. While Harry was of the opinion that almost anywhere else had to be better than living with the Dursleys, he also wouldn't put it past them to find the one place that wasworse, and then leave him there.

He panicked at the thought. 'I don't want to,' he thought, miserably. 'I don't want to, I don't want to, I don't want to.'

The next few seconds of Harry's life were very strange, even for him. He felt a pull in his stomach, like he was falling very fast, and then he felt a great sense of pressure all around him. It hurt, but Harry couldn't cry out, no matter how hard he tried. And then, the feeling was gone. He lay there, and blinked, and realised abruptly that he was looking at a stone wall.

Startled, Harry uncurled himself and sat up, peering around. Was he dreaming? He must be, but it felt real. Somehow, Harry had ended up somewhere else completely, and this time he didn't know where. He wasn't back up on his school's roof, which was a bit of a relief, but still. He'd done it again. His aunt and uncle were going to be furious with him.

And then Harry remembered that his relatives wanted to send him away anyways.

He carefully climbed to his feet, looking around warily. There was no one else nearby. Harry was standing in what looked like a dingy alley, still in the clothes he'd been wearing at school, with his left knee scraped from where he'd banged it against a bin trying to escape Dudley.

"Hello?" he called out. His voice was small. There was no reply. "Is anyone there?" Nothing.

Well, he had to venture out of the alley sometime. Harry started walking, following the distant sounds he could hear of people talking. At least he knew that he wasn't completely alone, wherever he was. Maybe somebody nearby would know the way back to Privet Drive. If Harry even wanted to go back.

There was a shout ahead, and Harry stopped instinctively. There was something about the glee in that cry, something about the exuberant voice, which put him on alert instantly. Harry knew bullies when he heard them. He looked behind him frantically, but the alley ended a few yards back. He was trapped. He didn't even see any bins that he could climb up and jump higher from, like he'd done earlier today.

Less than a minute later, a young boy that looked to be around his age came tearing along down the alley. He slammed to a stop when he caught sight of Harry, and huddled closer around the book in his hands. His knees were torn up too, and his blond hair was dirty. Harry could tell at a glance that this boy was the target of whoever was still shouting. Sure enough, they came around the corner a second later, and crowed in delight when they saw their prey standing still.

Harry shivered, but for once it wasn't him they were after. Instead, the three boys, all older by several years, surrounded the other boy. "Hey!" one of them cried out. "There's the heretic!" Why they yelled this when the boy was right there and not running any longer, Harry didn't know. He also didn't know what that name was they were calling the boy, either. They didn't even seem to see Harry, they were so focused on the other boy, who was now squatting down and curling up around his book.

Harry recognised the signs of someone expecting to get punched and kicked no matter how much he protested. He hesitated for only an instant, and then Harry ran over. "Leave him alone!" Harry tried to say this forcefully, even though he felt very afraid. With Dudley and his friends, Harry always ran away. He was quick enough that they rarely caught up to him before break was over, or before they got bored of chasing after him. These three didn't look as out of shape as Dudley, though. They were probably fast.

Most likely, this was only going to end with the two of them being beaten up, instead of just the blond-haired boy. But Harry had already called their attention to him. While the boy's head had whipped up quickly at Harry's shout, he stayed silent, obviously hoping to disappear. Harry couldn't blame him.

The three bullies looked Harry up and down. One of them sniggered, and all three smirked nastily. Harry knew why. He was small and skinny, and not much of a threat at all. He swallowed heavily as they left the other boy and stalked towards him slowly, but he lifted his chin stubbornly. It wouldn't be the first time Harry got punched. He only hoped that the other boy ran while their attention was on Harry.

"Hey! You guys leave him alone!" he heard. Harry looked behind his attackers in dismay, thinking for a moment that it was the boy he was trying to save who had spoken up, but instead there was another boy standing in the entrance to the alley. He was young too, though not as small as Harry, and his hair was dark, though not as dark as Harry's, and his eyes were pinned angrily and without fear on the three older boys. Harry marvelled that someone his age could have so much courage.

"Look, it's Eren," one of the older boys said, sneering. But one of the others started looking around wildly, as though he expected a demon to pop up around a corner at any moment.

"Hey," that boy muttered, voice so quiet that Harry could barely hear him from close by, pulling at the sleeve of the third boy. "Hey, maybe we should take off. If Eren found us, you _know_ she's not far away."

The third boy, to Harry's utter amazement, suddenly looked as though he had much more important things to do, and nudged the first boy, whispering into his ear so quietly that, this time, Harry really couldn't hear what was said. Whatever it was, the boy he spoke to paled, and swallowed noisily. He looked over at Harry, who balled up his fists and did his best to look unafraid and defiant, like the boy who was apparently named Eren, who was now helping the blond-haired kid get back onto his feet. The three boys standing in a huddle darted their eyes towards the mouth of the alley, and then they all hesitated.

"Mikasa!" the blond-haired boy suddenly called out, waving his arm as though greeting someone. "Over here!"

"Shit!" one of the older boys shrieked in panic, and as one, they all three broke and ran, darting past the two boys and out of the alley, disappearing rather suddenly.

Harry blinked in astonishment. Whoever this Mikasa was, he made a firm mental note to never make her mad at him.

"What?" the boy named Eren said, looking around. "Where? I don't see Mikasa, Armin. She's supposed to be helping my mom right now anyway."

Armin, the boy Harry had first helped, shrugged. "My mistake. It must have been someone else." Something about the way Armin said that made Harry think that the other boy was lying, but he couldn't deny that he'd gotten those three older boys to leave, so Harry said nothing.

"Hey, who are you?" Eren asked suddenly, as though only just noticing that Harry was there. He was used to being ignored; it was his relatives' favourite way of dealing with Harry, and Dudley had made sure years ago that all the other kids he went to school with ignored him too, so he wasn't put out at only just being acknowledged.

"Harry Potter," he answered. He shifted nervously. Harry wasn't sure if he should join them, or just leave, but then he remembered that he was lost. "Er, sorry to bother you, but do you know where we are?"

"You're lost?" Eren exclaimed, as though the idea was completely unheard of for him. The other boy, Armin, sent him a more sympathetic look. "We're in Shiganshina District," he explained.

Except that was no explanation at all to Harry, who had never heard of such a place. Was he even still in Surrey? Surely, he couldn't have travelled _that_ far. "Well, do you know how far it is to Little Whinging?" he asked then, certain that, wherever he was, it wasn't there.

The two boys exchanged a look, and Harry's heart sank. He could tell from their faces that they'd never heard of the town. Armin spoke up again. "Are you from inside Wall Maria? Or are you from inside Wall Rose? Or Sina? How long have you been lost?"

Those names meant nothing to Harry. Like he could tell from their faces, his own blank expression must have been enough. Eren's brows were furrowed in confusion, but Armin was beginning to look excited. He walked closer, and Eren blinked before following, until all three of them were back in the shadow of the alley.

"Where are you from, exactly?" Armin asked him, voice eager. Harry didn't understand why he looked so happy, and Eren didn't seem to either.

Harry took a deep breath. "Little Whinging," he said again. Still no recognition. "Surrey?" he tried. Both boys blinked at him. How could they have never heard of Surrey? A horrible, ominous feeling came to Harry then. Wherever he was, it was nowhere near where he'd lived his whole life to date. Could Harry possibly be in another _country_? The States, maybe?

"Is this America?" he asked in desperation. Harry didn't even own a passport; he couldn't have gotten lost in another country, but somehow, he must have.

"No," Armin replied. "Did you recognise those names I mentioned? The walls?"

Harry shook his head mutely, and Armin and Eren's jaws dropped open. They didn't close them right away. "How could you not know about the walls?" Eren asked, his voice incredulous.

Suddenly, Eren reached out, snatching Harry's arm. "Come on," he said, and he actually started tugging Harry forward, out of the alley.

"Wait-!" Harry cried out, but Eren wasn't listening. He was marching forward, and Harry followed involuntarily in his wake. Eren was around his age too, Harry thought, but he was a lot stronger than he looked. And fast, too. Harry hadn't been expecting Eren to suddenly grab hold of him, and now he couldn't yank his arm free. "Let go!" he protested hotly.

Eren did, shaking out his hand as though he'd received a mild shock of electricity, releasing Harry's arm so abruptly that Harry stumbled forward a step before he regained his balance. Armin came up beside him, having had to practically run in order to keep up with Eren's pace. Eren ignored them both, instead pointing up over their heads and beyond the buildings around them.

And there, higher than Harry could have imagined, was an immense wall. It seemed to block out the sun, and Harry felt a shiver run down his spine. It was monstrous, and though Harry had no idea what it was for, he knew one thing instantly: he didn't like it.

"That's the wall," Eren explained, unnecessarily. "You remember it now?"

Harry shook his head once again. He had never seen anything like it before. Both boys stilled beside him. "Wait," Eren said, voice hushed now, "are you serious? You- you've never seen the walls before?"

Harry didn't answer. He didn't need to.

"Wow," Armin whispered beside him. They were all three quiet then, their heads all staring up at the wall, none of them knowing what to say next. Then, Armin seemed to stir. "Eren," he said, and suddenly his voice was surprisingly firm, "we can't tell anyone about this. I mean, we'll have to tell Mikasa, but we can't let anyone else know."

Eren nodded, now looking at Harry solemnly. It made him nervous. Not as nervous as the excitement in Armin's eyes, though. "Don't worry," Eren said, patting Harry on the arm. "We won't let anyone else find out."

"Find out about what?" Harry asked, who still didn't really understand what was going on. He knew now that he was someplace far away, but he didn't understand why the two boys were so shocked that he wasn't from around here.

Eren opened his mouth, but Armin shushed him, looking around suspiciously. "We should go to my house," he said. In his arms, he was still clutching a book. It looked old, and dirty, and Harry wondered if it had come from a library or something.

They walked in silence, Eren and Armin ahead of him to lead the way. Every minute or so, Armin looked back and sent him a reassuring smile, which Harry appreciated. Eren was looking up at the sky, more than ahead, and Harry followed his gaze. The buildings were so close together that Harry could barely see anything up there, but the sun showed that it was still early in the day. Which was not the time that Harry last knew it to be. He silently puzzled over how that could be for a bit.

"Hey," Eren said, "I forgot. My name's Eren Jaeger. This is Armin Arlert."

"Nice to meet you," Harry said politely. He'd known their first names already, but it wasn't the same as being properly introduced.

Armin bit his lip and looked sheepish. "Eren's right, we forgot to introduce ourselves." He looked very apologetic. "That was rude."

Harry shook his head. It had been rude, he supposed, but he was a bit more worried about that wall. Now that he knew it was there, now that he knew to look up, Harry couldn't stop seeing it in the corner of his vision. It towered over everything.

"Thanks for earlier, too," Armin went on, oblivious to Harry's discomfort. He didn't see how the two other boys could ignore the wall like they were. "When you stopped those guys, I mean. You didn't have to do that."

Harry shrugged, and looked down at the ground. "I know what it's like," he mumbled, half-hoping that they couldn't hear him. He thought they did, but neither of them brought it up again, for which Harry was thankful.

They walked in a wide curve, following the shape of the wall. Harry wondered what was on the other side. More people? Eventually, they were in a less-populated area, with a house up ahead. Harry thought they'd go inside, but instead they sat outside on the steps.

Once Harry sat down, both boys looked at him expectantly, but Harry didn't know what they wanted from him. "Are you really from outside the walls?" Eren asked. From the way he blurted the question out, Harry could tell that he'd been just as eager to start talking as Armin was, though Harry hadn't thought so while they were still walking.

Harry shrugged. "I guess so?" he answered, tentatively. "I mean," he added, looking upwards at the wall again before jerking his gaze away, "I've never seen that before."

"Wow," Armin said again. "I can't believe it!"

Harry wanted to squirm away when they scooted closer, but there was nowhere for him to back up to without falling off of the step he was sitting on. "What are they?" he asked. "What country is this?"

Eren scrunched up his nose. "I have no idea what a 'country' is," he said. Harry blinked at him in astonishment. He glanced at Armin, who shrugged in what Harry assumed was agreement. "The walls are to keep us safe from the Titans, of course. Even if no one's spotted one near the walls in years and years."

Titans? That wasn't a word Harry knew. He opened his mouth, but Armin spoke first. "Are there oceans?" he asked. His voice was very insistent, and Harry couldn't help but be puzzled by his odd choice of words.

Eren rolled his eyes. "You and your oceans," he said, though the teasing sounded good-natured. "Armin's obsessed with oceans," Eren added, as though he was confiding in Harry, although obviously Armin could hear him just fine. "Don't suppose you've ever seen one."

"They exist!" Armin insisted. Harry nodded in agreement, because of course the oceans existed. Just because Harry had never seen one in person didn't mean they didn't exist. He'd learned about the oceans, and lots of world geography, at school.

Both boys froze, mouths hanging open again. "They really do?" Armin asked, voice no louder than a whisper. He clutched the book to his chest, hugging it close. His eyes were filling with tears. Harry was quite alarmed. He had no idea why his simple agreement was being met with so much joy. Did these two not go to school? Had they never learned about the oceans? As fervent as Armin had been a moment ago, Harry could tell now that he still hadn't been prepared for the confirmation.

"Yes," Harry answered, not sure what else to say. Both of the other boys just stared at him demandingly, though, so he elaborated. "There's the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the Indian."

"There's _four_ of them?" Armin squeaked. Harry nodded again.

"This is incredible!" Eren exclaimed, looking at Armin excitedly, his eyes shining with delight. "We've got to see one now! No, all four! Imagine how big it must be out there, with four oceans!"

Armin was wiping away tears, and Harry thought he was the only one until Eren ran a sleeve across his eyes too. While Harry had no idea why the idea of oceans was so amazing, he was pleased to have made them both so happy with that knowledge. He waited a minute for the two of them to calm down, but if anything, Armin and Eren just got more excited.

"What else is really out there?" Armin demanded, Eren nodding along. "What about the Titans? How do you stay safe from them? Are there really lots of other people living outside?"

Harry looked from one eager face to the other, his head swimming, and asked a question that he had a feeling would change his life forever. "What's a Titan?"

The three boys talked for hours, until the sun climbed high into the sky and then started descending again. Eren and Armin asked him endless questions, so much so that Harry could barely get his own in. He learned what Titans are, and just the idea of them was the scariest thing Harry had ever heard of.

The three of them didn't stop until Eren abruptly cut off from describing the Survey Corps as a shadow fell over the three of them. They looked up, blinking, and Harry saw a girl standing at the bottom of the steps. She looked pretty, around their age, with a scarf wrapped around her lower face, even though Harry didn't think it was all that cold out.

She was also glaring. It was a scary look. Harry gulped, knowing without being told that this must be the infamous Mikasa. "Eren," she said, "you never came back for lunch, and now it's almost dinnertime. Your mother sent me out to look for you."

Eren opened his mouth, looking stubborn and dismissive, but thankfully Armin cut across whatever he was going to say. "Mikasa, you won't believe this, but Harry's from outside the walls!"

Mikasa blinked, then looked at Harry, who nodded quickly. The girl stood there unmoving for another minute, and then she sat down on the steps too. "Tell me," she demanded. "I want to know more about how beautiful the world is."

Unable to refuse her, and not really wanting to, Harry started over from the beginning.


End file.
